Your paper photos and slides are fading over time. Your videocassettes are degrading and becoming fuzzy. What if your home is flooded or the box of memories is lost? Even digital records on CDs or computer floppy disks will degrade over time. Do you even still have a videocassette player or a computer with a floppy disk drive?

Below is a step-by-step guide to digitize, store, and share your precious memories.

How to Digitize Photos, Movies, Videos, and Family Records

Physical photos and videos degrade over time. Digitizing them protects against fading, damage, and loss.

1. Gather Your Materials
   • Collect all your photos, slides, negatives, and videos. Talk with family members to find out what they have.
   • Organize them by type and importance.
2. Scanning Photos, Slides, and Negatives
   • Prepare photos. Clean your photos to remove dust and imperfections. Learn how.
   • Do-it-Yourself Solutions. Doing it yourself is cost-effective but time-consuming. You will need access to a high-quality scanner at home or at work. Or if you live near a FamilySearch Center, you can go there to scan photos, slides, and negatives. Visit the Family Memories Preservation Center in Salt Lake City or one of thousands of FamilySearch Centers worldwide. Scan at a high resolution (600 dpi is recommended) and save in the JPEG format for a good balance of quality and file size.
   • Professional Services. Use a professional digitization service for high-quality results and to save time. They can handle delicate items and provide advanced restoration. Some options include LegacyBox, ScanMyPhotos, and ScanCafe.
3. Scanning Paper Records
   • You will need access to a high-quality scanner at home or at work. Or if you live near a FamilySearch Center, you can go there to scan documents. Visit the Family Memories Preservation Center in Salt Lake City or one of thousands of FamilySearch Centers worldwide.
   • Scan at a high resolution (600 dpi is recommended) and save in the PDF format.
4. Converting Movies and Videos
   • Do-it-Yourself Solutions. Doing it yourself is cost-effective but time-consuming. You will need to purchase a video capture device to connect a VCR or camcorder to your computer. Or if you live near a FamilySearch Center, you can go there to convert home movies. Visit the Family Memories Preservation Center in Salt Lake City or one of thousands of FamilySearch Centers worldwide. Save the converted videos in the MP4 format to ensure long-term accessibility.
   • Professional Services. Use a professional digitization service for high-quality results and to save time. They can handle delicate items and provide advanced restoration. Some options include LegacyBox, ScanMyPhotos, and ScanCafe.

How to Store Your Digital Files

Once you have converted physical objects to digital files, you want to protect them from loss and from disasters like floods or fires.

1. Organizing Your Files
   • Sort files into folders by date, event, or person.
   • Use descriptive file names and metadata tags for easy searching.
2. Digital Storage Solutions
   • Create multiple backups on external hard drives or other storage media. Regularly update your backups to ensure you don’t lose any new additions.
   • Save your files on a cloud storage service like Dropbox, Google Drive, or Box. Learn more about Dropbox.
   • You could also use a photo storage and sharing service such as Google Photos, Apple iCloud Photos, Amazon Photos, or Flickr.
   • For movies, you can create a free YouTube channel and upload the videos for your family to enjoy.

How to Share Your Digital Files

1. Share photos and family stories on FamilySearch Memories.
2. Share links to photo storage service such as Google Photos, Apple iCloud Photos, Amazon Photos, or Flickr.
3. Share links to videos you post on YouTube.
4. Create a family website where you can share stories, photos, and videos.
5. Share photos, videos, and stories on social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and YouTube. You can create albums on these sites to keep your photos organized. Learn how to stay safe on social media.

Related article:

• 5 Reasons to Digitize Your Family Photos